Lord Rea was a staunch friend of the Kurds, patron of Peace in Kurdistan since it was founded in 1994 and respected around the world as a human rights defender. 

The statement said: "Human rights everywhere were a passionate concern of Lord Rea throughout his career and he was determined to speak out on various cases of abuses and injustices such as the Kurds."

Peace in Kurdistan remembered how Lord Rea "was always ready to contribute towards the campaigns in support of Kurdish issues and raised matters of concern with government ministers, spoke in Lords debates and hosted countless discussions on Kurdish affairs in Parliament, among his many invaluable activities. Lord Rea visited Turkey numerous times as part of delegations to highlight cases of human rights violations of political prisoners and abuses of power carried out by the Turkish state."

Peace in Kurdistan ended its message by sending "its heartfelt condolences to Lord Rea’s family and expresses immense gratitude for all the important solidarity work that he performed to support the cause of justice for the Kurds. He commands our deepest respect as an outstanding individual, a friend and ally."